Twitter time-savers: Success in just 20 minutes a day

“How much time should I spend on Twitter?” is a question I get asked repeatedly. And last week one person upped the game by asking, “But what if I only have 20 minutes a day?”

OK, I accept the challenge! Here are my thoughts on being an effective tweeter in only 20 minutes a day. I’ve divided this into two categories—20 minutes a day for beginners and then experienced folks.

The 20-minute challenge for beginners

In a world focused on “engagement” and “conversation” I’m going to give some unconventional advice — Forget about it for a few weeks. If you’re a beginner and can only spend 20 minutes a day on Twitter, concentrate on building a relevant tribe of followers. Two reasons for this:

So in the first two months, tweet at least once a day so people see that you’re active, but spend half of your time finding and following interesting people. Don’t worry if they follow back or not. That will come in time.